The Confused, Hapless Democratic Party

First, just to state the obvious, the Democrats fell short of their goal. They tried to pitch the special election as a referendum on President Trump, but that message failed. It seems strange, but today’s liberals invested a huge amount of money, media attention, and hopes and dreams in a 30-year-old straight, white Southern male. I think it points to the bewilderment within the Democratic Party. Looking at the mixed bag of confusing images and messages that have come from the left of late, it’s easy to ask: Who are the Democrats?

On the one hand, the Obamas took a well-publicized trip on a Hollywood billionaire’s mega-yacht. They reinforced negative stereotypes about Democrats being too cozy with and solicitous of the entertainment industry’s billionaire mogul class just as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and new DNC Chairman Tom Perez launched a nationwide “unity” tour to help save the United States from the billionaires. Ironic.

And meanwhile, the Democrats in Congress have no agenda beyond being anti-Trump. Of course, Sanders and Perez are playing to their stereotype. They’ve called for a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan with no plan to pay for it. And again, Sanders and Perez are demanding a $15 minimum wage but have offered no explanation for how they settled on that amount.